Many EU egg farms contaminated with Salmonella

A recent study by the European Food Safety Authority has uncovered a
high degree of Salmonella contamination on EU egg
farms.

The study, which tested dust, bird faeces and other
materials, found Salmonella
on 79.5% of the premises tested in Portugal, 77.2% in Poland and 73.2% in
Spain.

Although experts agree that flock contamination does not
necessarily mean egg contamination, these statistics are worrying to some
countries that import eggs from these regions.

In Britain, where
contamination levels are among the lowest, the British Egg Industry Council and
Food Safety and Food Standards Authority say that a ban on egg imports from
countries with high levels of contamination should be
considered.

Although 85% of the eggs eaten in Britain are produced on
British farms, the remainder are imported from Europe, according to industry
body the British Egg Industry Council.

The Council said that imports
of eggs into the UK should be banned unless they have been produced to the
standards required by the British Lion scheme, including vaccination of hens
against Salmonella, a best-before date on every egg and full traceability of
eggs, hens and feed.

The intention behind the survey is to fix
targets to reduce salmonella across the EU.